Four ‘angels' make rescues in rip currents

William Kent, 16, (pictured left) and Coleman Clark, 16, (pictured right) pose for a picture on Thursday with Nancy Plymale, 65, of Kent, Ohio, the woman they saved from a deadly rip current on Wednesday at Sunset Beach. The two high school football players pulled people from the water and cleared the beach, saving lives, observers said. Kent and Clark are rising juniors at Hibriten High School in Lenoir, N.C. Submitted photo

Kent and Clark – both rising juniors at Hibriten – went to the beach with Kent's family, reuniting with Slaughter and Grill, who Kent met at the beach last year.

Slaughter and Grill met Jackson McLean earlier this week.

After initially ignoring a stranger's cries for help, believing the man was joking, the boys swam further offshore to help those caught in the rip current.

“Everything was happening so quick,” Clark said. “I just kind of reacted to the situation and wanted to help.”

Working together, Kent and Clark first brought Nancy Plymale, 65, of Kent, Ohio, into shore.

“My family is just so very impressed with these young men,” Plymale said. “I, too, was a near-drowning victim ... (but) four angels, disguised as football players swam me to shore.”

Meanwhile, Slaughter and Grill were busy helping two Marines, also on vacation, move Mitchell McLean out of the surf.

“It was kind of hard. ... Someone wanted us to go back to shore and get a boogie board,” Slaughter said. “A lot of adrenaline went through my body.”

Once McLean was onshore, Slaughter and Clark went to comfort Jackson while Kent performed CPR on the judge.

“I tried to stand out of the way and when I realized that was Jackson's dad, I went to try and comfort him, me and Jamal did,” Clark said. “As you can imagine, Jackson was freaking out.”

Plymale's husband, Jay, 66, brought in Maryanne Galway, 55, of Waxhaw, the woman McLean entered the water to try to save.

Galway was pronounced dead from drowning Wednesday evening.

McLean leaves behind sons Jackson and Fin, 12, as well as his wife Beth, 50.

Galway is survived by her husband Edward Galway, 59, who was hospitalized but released after also getting caught in the rip current.

“They did CPR on Ms. Galway for 25, 30 minutes and they never got anything started back up on her,” Kent said.

The boys, who all said they had never been in such a strong rip current, are shaken up from the experience, but all said they wouldn't act any differently if confronted with that situation again.

“I'm a little bit shocked but thankful because I couldn't have done it without a good group of guys who worked as a team and God,” Clark said. “One of us could easily have gotten caught in the rip current.”

<p>Sixteen-year-old William Kent swears the man had a pulse. His compressions had made a difference. </p><p>The man, three and a half times Kent's age, started coughing and sputtering water, vomiting the seawater in his lungs onto Sunset Beach.</p><p>Kent, a tight end at Hibriten High School in Lenoir and a Boy Scout who has taken CPR and emergency preparedness classes, did not think twice about diving into a rip current to save lives. </p><p>Kent and his three friends have been called “angels” for their selfless determination to pull swimmers from a powerful rip current at Sunset Beach that claimed two lives on Wednesday. </p><p>A lack of lifeguards at all Brunswick County beaches meant individuals like Kent had to spring into action when vacationers were in distress, creating more potential victims. </p><p>Wilkesboro Chief District Court Judge Mitchell McLean, 55, died from drowning despite the CPR Kent administered to him. </p><p>“It turns out that one of the boys who was throwing football with us was his son,” Kent said. “I didn't realize this till after the whole situation went down.”</p><p>That football was thrown shortly before the rip current chaos by Kent; Coleman Clark, 16; Jamal Slaughter, 19; Bryan Grill, 20; and Jackson McLean, 14, Mitchell McLean's son. </p><p>Kent and Clark – both rising juniors at Hibriten – went to the beach with Kent's family, reuniting with Slaughter and Grill, who Kent met at the beach last year. </p><p>Slaughter and Grill met Jackson McLean earlier this week. </p><p>After initially ignoring a stranger's cries for help, believing the man was joking, the boys swam further offshore to help those caught in the rip current. </p><p>“Everything was happening so quick,” Clark said. “I just kind of reacted to the situation and wanted to help.” </p><p>Working together, Kent and Clark first brought Nancy Plymale, 65, of Kent, Ohio, into shore. </p><p>“My family is just so very impressed with these young men,” Plymale said. “I, too, was a near-drowning victim ... (but) four angels, disguised as football players swam me to shore.” </p><p>Meanwhile, Slaughter and Grill were busy helping two Marines, also on vacation, move Mitchell McLean out of the surf. </p><p>“It was kind of hard. ... Someone wanted us to go back to shore and get a boogie board,” Slaughter said. “A lot of adrenaline went through my body.” </p><p>Once McLean was onshore, Slaughter and Clark went to comfort Jackson while Kent performed CPR on the judge. </p><p>“I tried to stand out of the way and when I realized that was Jackson's dad, I went to try and comfort him, me and Jamal did,” Clark said. “As you can imagine, Jackson was freaking out.”</p><p>Plymale's husband, Jay, 66, brought in Maryanne Galway, 55, of Waxhaw, the woman McLean entered the water to try to save. </p><p>Galway was pronounced dead from drowning Wednesday evening. </p><p>McLean leaves behind sons Jackson and Fin, 12, as well as his wife Beth, 50. </p><p>Galway is survived by her husband Edward Galway, 59, who was hospitalized but released after also getting caught in the rip current. </p><p>“They did CPR on Ms. Galway for 25, 30 minutes and they never got anything started back up on her,” Kent said. </p><p>The boys, who all said they had never been in such a strong rip current, are shaken up from the experience, but all said they wouldn't act any differently if confronted with that situation again. </p><p>“I'm a little bit shocked but thankful because I couldn't have done it without a good group of guys who worked as a team and God,” Clark said. “One of us could easily have gotten caught in the rip current.” </p><p>Will Drabold: 343-2016</p><p>On <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/news41"><b>Twitter</b></a>: @willdrabold</p>